I'm living in Berlin and will be looking to get in shape over the next months to do my first mountaineering trip in the Alps this summer. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for weekend trips to get in shape. I took a trip south of Munich to the 'pre-alps' last fall, which was great, but I'm looking for something closer to home. Within a few hours by train. Thanks!

I lived in Germany for four years and unfortunately for me I was five hours (Kaiserslauturn) from the German Alps. Berlin is about the same. I do not know of any good mountains closer to Berlin than those areas. I did a lot of stuff around Bertchesgaden and Garmisch and if you can't drive there then the trains coming out of Munchen are the way to do it. Not sure exactly how far the train ride from Berlin to Munchen is or how much it costs. Another good site is the Deustche Bahn for train timetables and costs. www.db.de

Dresden and the <a href="http://www.summitpost.org/show/mountain_link.pl/mountain_id/2483">Saechsische Schweiz<a/> has rock climbing and sufficient hills for working out. About 2 hours from Berlin, so good for a weekend trip. Maybe the Harz also for hiking to just get into hill walking shape.

I think my question is best piggybacked on this good topic. I live in Munich and love the mountains nearby, but I miss easy access (like 15 minutes drive from work at lunch) to hills of 500 meters or more that I had back in Seattle.

Does anyone have an inspired workout idea for an inner-city mountaineer? I was thinking about mapping out various buildings where I could climb stairs, descend into the ubahn and back ,etc.

It sounds like a similar problem in Berlin - good luck Rpiontek!